we're out of time. see you back here tomorrow morning for starting point. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins now. >> good morning, soledad. happening now in the newsroom, systemic failures in benghazi. an independent review releases a report on just what happened that night in libya and how it could have been prevented. blizzard warning from denver to detroit a week before christmas. the storms bringing an unwelcome present to americans traveling home for the holidays.

50 mile per hour winds, a foot of snow. we're tracking the latest forecast. plus this. >> with all this -- all the new, you know, talk of new legislation going on to assault rifles, i really -- you know, i definitely want to get a few more before, you know, something may happen. >> gun sales spike as gun control simmers. talk of new policy sends many americans on a shopping spree. ♪ where are those good old fashioned values, on which we used to rely ♪ >> "family guy" is back and we'll show you part of the episode that was canceled out of respect for the people of newtown, connecticut. newtown, connecticut. "newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. thank you so much for joining us. i'm carol costello. first up, president obama and the first step toward new gun control laws. as you might remember, he promised those changes on sunday at a heart wrenching vigil for

the school shooting victims in connecticut. this morning mr. obama will announce that vice president joe biden will lead the effort to form new policies and rein in gun violence. this morning's briefing comes as newtown prepares to bury several students and a beloved teacher. vicki soto used her body to shield students from the gunman. the national rifle association finally breaks its silence. the nra promising to take part in a gun control debate it has scheduled a friday announcement. more on that in a minute. first to the white house and cnn's dan lothian. >> reporter: white house aides say this will be a chance for the president to talk more about the process of setting up this effort which, as you pointed out, will be led by vice president biden. i'm hearing also as part of that effort will involve homeland security, the education department, health and human services and also the justice department will be looking at ways that they can come up with

policies to address this issue of gun violence. again, this is the president reacting to some pressure as to what he would do. you know, right after this violent event took place, the president came out and said that he would take action. that his administration in the coming weeks and months would be looking at ways to prevent something like this from happening again. so this is the first visible action that this administration has taken to -- is taking, rather, to meet that demand. >> all right. the president will speak, we expect, in just about 2 1/2 hours. when the president speaks, of course, cnn will take it live. thank you, dan. the national rifle association is vowing to take part in the national dialogue on gun control. and says it's heartbroken and shocked by the massacre. it's worth noting the gun rights group seems to be embracing a softer tone in assigning blame for the gunman's killing spree. >> i don't think the issue is an issue. i don't think the issue is parenting or hollywood or guns or rap music or young man.

it is the foundational stuff. whether it's a lack of love, a lack of empathy for others, apathy. >> that from the nra's website. in its first statement since the killings the nra has this to say. quote, out of respect for the families and as a matter of common decency we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting. the nra is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again, end quote. cnn's george howell is following the politics and power of the nra. david mattingly shows us how talk of gun control is triggering a spike in gun sales. george, let's begin with you and the nra. what does it mean by meaningful contributions? >> carol, fair to say, it's an open ended statement. and since that statement, since the shooting, the nra has been silent. we know their facebook page, they took that down briefly. their twitter account also went

cold. now both are back up. touting this big announcement friday. what that big announcement will be we have yet to see. again, we know their website is also up and run ing. you played just a moment ago a bit of this -- this program called cannon company. that's a web cast that appears on the website. let's listen to just a little bit more of that to get reaction to what happened in newtown. >> what do we see coming right out of this tragedy right away? you've got mayor bloomberg, you've got senators chuck schumer and senator dianne feinstein insisting that we need tougher gun laws. and you look at connecticut, and they are number five when it comes to the strictest gun laws in the country. >> so, carol, this is a big, strong lobbying group. we're talking about a group that has more than 4 million members nationwide. they run conventions and other gun-related activities. and they have a great deal of political power. just this year the nra spent some $17 million in federal

political races. again, this year alone, they contributed also more than $700,000 to individual candidates. carol, most of those candidates, republicans. and that's just part of it. this is one of the biggest lobbying groups in the u.s. they had their hands in some 60 measures this year alone. carol, when you compare this group to, you know, the other advocacy groups, the brady campaign to stop gun violence, when you compare those two groups, the nra outspends that group some 66 times more than the brady campaign. and they spent more than 4,143 times more money on contributions. so this is a big, strong, powerful group. carol, when they talk about meaningful contributions, what does that mean? this is a group, if they were to support a ban on assault rifles, that would be a huge blow to gun makers. >> i can't see that happening. >> what does it mean, a meaningful contribution? we have yet to see. >> yeah. we have yet to see. friday's the big day when the nra will maybe spell out what

those meaningful contributions are. with polls showing that more americans now support stricter gun laws, the question of gun control may not be if, but when despite the nra. that's prompting many americans to go gun shopping right now. cnn's david mattingly is here to talk about this new spike in sales. >> carol, nothing affects buying habits more than uncertainty. right now potential gun owners, potential gun buyers have no idea what the future might bring. so the solution for some of them right now is to go shopping. almost 1,000 miles away from newtown, connecticut, gun owners rush to buy more guns. why are you in here today? >> i was -- i was looking for a gun that i have wanted for a long time and just wanted to get it before possible changes. >> reporter: at this gun shop and firie ining range north of

atlanta, already brisk holiday sales have suddenly bumped up even more. customers fearing future gun restrictions from congress are looking to buy now. >> me and my brother collect weapons. and we have plenty of handguns and shotguns. only one assault rifle. with all of this -- all the new, you know, talk of new legislation going on to assault rifles, i really -- you know, i definitely want to get a few more before, you know, something may happen. >> reporter: what's the largest clip you can put in there? >> gun collector rudy orlando is specifically looking to buy the ar-15. a semiautomaccic rifle similar to the one used connecticut. he's not alone. demand for the weapon here is driving a $1,000 price tag. >> all the prices are really high. i mean, they're really high on these guns right now, you know. and they're not going to budge on the prices because they're going to be sold. >> reporter: are you going to buy anyway? >> i probably will. >> reporter: a recent spike in sales reported in stores across the country add emphasis to what

is already a record sales year in the u.s. last year the fbi conducted a record 16,450,000 background checks. this year the total so far is over 16,800,000. and that doesn't include the month of december. future legislation could affect availability of certain semiautomatic weapons. features on the guns. and the magazines that hold large numbers of rounds. without specifics, store president tom deet says any gun owner could feel vulnerable. >> would the existing rifles that are in the marketplace be legal? or would they go across the board and make everything that people have previously purchased illegal? >> reporter: the uncertainty bothers nongun owners as well. brandon ward is a first time gun buyer worried about protecting his family. why now? why today? so soon after the shootings? >> because i'm worried that the

government's going to put so much regulations on being able to do this, you know, come future months that it's not going to be an option for me. >> reporter: industry analysts see this as a possible peak to the sales growth that began with the election of president obama four years ago. u.s. gun sales totalled $2.5 billion in 2008. this year that figure could top $3.5 billion. and this latest bump in sales is just on top of what's already been a brisk holiday season for gun sales. the biggest gun day -- sales of guns ever? black friday this year. >> i just wanted to ask you a question. you interviewed one man who said he already had an assault rifle and he wanted to buy a couple more. why does he need more than one? >> well, if he's a collector and he thinks there's a particular item that he wants now that may not be available in the future, he feels like he has to get it now. one of those customers there we talked to spoke to that exactly.

and this really isn't unexpected. after the shootings in colorado earlier this year back in july, the weekend after that happened in colorado, there was a 43% jump in background checks for gun buyers. >> david mattingly, thanks so much. on to benghazi. an independent federal committee released vivid new details from the september attacks in which four americans lost their lives. this report is the result of a months long investigation and says that security at the consulate in benghazi was, quote, grossly inadequate. to cope with the attack. and that the state department ignored repeated requests to beef up personnel. ultimately the report finds there was, quote, lack of transparency, responsiveness and leadership at senior levels. wow. general spider marks joins me from virginia. but all accounts, this is a scathing report, isn't it? >> it really is. i think we shouldn't be surprised by this. as you go through the details, carol, you realize that there was an acknowledgment that

security was inadequate, specifically in benghazi, which was a small consulate if you'll look at the report. but irrespective of size, there are functions that must be performed at every one of these outposts that represents -- this is u.s. property. this is u.s. soil. this is analogous to the corner of our -- of our little city center. it's very important that everybody acknowledge that. and that certain requirements are made and are met. and in this particular case, it was apparent that someone in the state department at a relatively senior level denied a request for increased security. and the problem that we should have with that is that no single authority should be allowed to make a decision to deny an enhanced security posture. you can approve that. you might find out you went overboard and maybe increased too much security. that's never a bad thing. however, you shouldn't be allowed to deny those requests. that needs to go to a larger body and it needs to go to the

very top if somebody's going to deny a request of an ambassador for increased security. >> so i hear you, general. but this board also recommended no disciplinary action. named no names. shouldn't someone specific be held accountable for what you just said? >> oh, of course. i mean, you've got to start at the very top. nobody's out to -- >> so is it hillary clinton? she's at the very top. she's the one that took blame. >> she's the secretary of state. this is her organization. and on her watch, an ambassador was killed. this is egregious. so there needs to be accountability. of course there needs to be accountability. there are multiple decisions that are made at multiple levels. and when you're in large organizations like this, it's very easy for everybody to kind of moonwalk away from responsibility as that call for accountability and responsibility rolls down the table. somebody has to raise a hand and say, i blew it. i acknowledged the input from my ambassador. senior u.s. representative on the ground. i denied this request. as a result, we had this

incredibly bad outcome. we have to fix our processes. that's the key thing about blame. is to go back and to identify what -- what were our expectations? what were our procedures? where did we come up short? let's shore those up now so it doesn't happen again. i don't see that happening with a report like this. >> general james spider marks, thanks for joining us this morning. >> thanks. snow has not been a factor across much of the united states so far this season. but that is about to change. from the west coast to the midwest, six states now under blizzard warnings. this is a live look from denver from our affiliate kusa. if you're trying to get home for the holidays, this storm could really screw things up. it could. meteorologi meteorologist alexandra steele joins us now. >> inopportune for travelers. opportune for skiiers. here's the trianle of trouble. from denver to chicago, even toward atlanta, georgia.

so thousands of miles are going to be impacted by not only snow, but incredibly strong winds. then, believe it or not, the south side of this winter storm there's a severe deponent. when we come back, i'll break it down, time it out. show you who will be affected and when. that's all coming up in just a bit. carol? >> thanks, alexandra. instagram backtracks. find out what the photo shares site is saying now about selling your images to advertisers.

37 minutes past the hour. 17. republicans try to figure out if they have enough votes for their plan "b" to pass.

house speaker john boehner offering higher tax breaks to millionaires. white house is rejecting boehner's plan saying a comprehensive plan and not a partial step is needed. michigan's governor is vetoing a bill that would have let people carry concealed weapons in schools, hospitals and other public places if they had licenses and underwent additional training. right now michigan law lets gun owners openly carry weaponing in those places. governor rick snyder says this bill did not allow public places to opt out. swiss bank ubs will pay $1.5 billion to settle claims it manipulated global lending rates known as libor. the second largest fine ever in the history of banking. the bank ceo says the firm regrets the unethical behavior. earlier this year barclays paid a $450 million fine for its part in manipulating that same rate. in washington state a dramatic mudslide caught on camera.

okay. that's scary. the mudslide knocks the train cars right off the tracks. a long shoreman took a video monday afternoon of this. he says he was working near the hill when he started hearing the soil move. wow. train service now back up and running. no one seriously hurt. just hours ago, "time" magazine unveiled its 2012 person of the year. and who is it? it is president obama. this is the second time president obama is person of the year. "time" also gave him the title in 2008. joining us from new york, radika jones. her third year editing the person of the year issue. welcome. >> good morning. >> good morning. some might say, this is such a safe choice. >> you know, i just read someone say on twitter that a safe choice is usually a smart choice. we're thinking about the news of

the year. and the year ahead. but we also are thinking about the legacy of the person of the year archive. we want a choice that will stand up to the test of time. we felt strongly that president obama would do that. >> some people might wonder, you know, and this name is even on your short list, malala y yousafzai. in the name of girls' education. why wasn't she person of the year? >> well, it was very important as you say for us to -- to tell her story in the person of the year issue. it's an incredibly compelling tale. she was targeted by the taliban after speaking out about girls' rights to education. she's become a huge role model around the world. and i think, you know, we'll see after she recovers how she uses this newfound power. she has a lot of powerful friends now. she will have a huge network. but we felt that for 2012 in terms of measurable impact and influence this year and going

forward, president obama was the strong choice. >> okay. let's talk more about president obama. "time" got some never before seen behind the scenes look at the president. we'll take a look at those photos. we'll talk about them and the president. this one shows the president going over his speech for newtown while at his daughter's ballet rehearsal. tell us about it. that actually is -- this is the one of him hugging michelle obama after he won the election. is that right? what is this picture? >> i'm not seeing what we're looking at. >> okay. now we're seeing the newtown picture of the president sitting and -- >> the newtown picture. that's from sunday morning. the president was working on his speech for the sunday night vigil in newtown. he had gone to sasha's ballet dress rehearsal that morning because he would miss the performance that evening. and white house photographer pete suza says of that picture he sees the emotion and the tension in the president's face. that from pete's point of view it looked like the toughest day of his presidency. >> in your mind, because some people have said this.

mostly strong supporters of the president. that the speech he gave right after the newtown shootings was the best he's ever given. maybe one of the best in history. >> i mean, i agree with that. i think you saw him in all of his roles in that speech. you saw him as the president, as a leader who is assessing his performance and the performance of leadership and finding fault and wanting to do better. you also saw him as a father, as a parent, as you could call him the mourner in chief. it's the president's job not only to lead politically but to set a tone for the nation. and to channel a national mood and emotion. i think the president did that extremely well at newtown. >> radhika jones talking about "time" magazine's person of the year, president obama. just one day after causing an up roar over changes to its term of service, photo sharing

website ins website instagram says you misunderstood. it's backtracking on the announcement it's going to sell your photos to advertisers. the company now says it never intended to sell your images and it's apologized for any confusion you felt. we're following the story from the nasdaq market site. seriously? >> good morning, carol. backtracking, indeed. instagram is still working out some details. it's clear about one thing. they will not sell your photos to use in a corporate ad. instagram says it heard loud and clear that users are confused and upset and that it's going to modify specific parts of the terms to make it more clear what will happen with your photos. so what will the company do with your pictures? you know what, carol? it's not totally clear. but instagram says one possible situation would be if a business wants to, say, promote its instagram account and you follow the business, the company may use your photo and a message telling your friends about the endorsement. it's kind of like facebook sponsored stories. instagram will give more details, though, before the changes kick in on january 16th, carol. >> hopefully they'll make them

more clear. if, indeed, that was the problem. maribel aber, thanks so much. still ahead, talk back question of the morning. the question today, should teachers be armed? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be right back. ♪ [ gordon ] for some this line is a convenience. how you doing today? i'm good thanks. how are you? i'm good. [ gordon ] but for others, it's all they can afford. every day nearly nine million older americans don't have enough to eat. anything else? no, not today. join me, aarp, and aarp foundation in the drive to end hunger by visiting drivetoendhunger.org.

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, should teachers be armed? i don't know about you, but i can't imagine my first grade teacher mrs. van horn packing a glock 9. or this, an m-4 assault rifle. >> i wish to god she had had an m-4 in her office locked up so

when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn't have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands. but she takes him out. >> talking about the principal at sandy hook. this is an idea that's catching on. take a look at the map. lawmakers in oklahoma, tennessee, florida, virginia, texas, minnesota, south dakota, nevada, and oregon are open to arming teachers. >> what i'm suggesting is that we have campus responders. two or three volunteers that are on the staff, whether administrators or teachers or staff members. hopefully maybe prior military or prior law enforcement. but people who are trained who will be armed and when the first shot is fired on the next campus they can respond and meet lethal force with lethal force. >> the liberal blog site mother jones did a two-month investigation on this very topic. it found more guns doesn't equal fewer mass shootings. it points out, quote, america now has 300 million firearms, a

barrage of nra-backed gun laws and record casualties for mass killers. the site quits dr. stephen hargarten at the medical college of wisconsin. he says, quote, armed civilians attempting to intervene are actually more likely to increase the bloodshed given that civilian shooters are less likely to hit their targets than police in these circumstances. even police officers aren't expert marksmen in the heat of battle. remember the chaotic scene at the empire state building last august in new york city? new york police officers confronted a gunman. in the process wounded nine innocent bystanders. would my first grade teacher, mrs. van horn, be a better shot? talk back question for you this morning. should teachers be armed? facebook.com/carolcnn. facebook.com/carolcnn. your responses a little later.

oh, let me guess --ou see this? more washington gridlock. no, it's worse -- look, our taxes are about to go up. not the taxes on our dividends though, right? that's a big part of our retirement. oh, no, it's dividends, too. the rate on our dividends would more than double. but we depend on our dividends to help pay our bills. we worked hard to save. well, the president and congress have got to work together to stop this dividend tax hike. before it's too late.

good morning. thank you so much for joining me. i'm carol costello. it is now 30 minutes past the hour. time to take a look at what we're watching right now in the "newsroom." the vice president joe biden taking a lead role as the white house looks to address the gun debate. at 11:45 this morning eastern time, president obama expected to announce that joe biden will head an interagency process to develop policy following the connecticut school shooting. specific policy decisions won't be announced today, but the president will outline his plan going forward. in the wake of the shooting at sandy hook elementary school,

one senator looks to improve school security. coming up in about a half hour, california senator barbara boxer will talk about new legislation that would strengthen school security by giving new resources and tools to help secure schools. we'll bring you the senator's news conference. that comes your way in about one-half hour. talks to avoid the fiscal cliff will go on again today as republicans try to figure out if they have enough votes for their plan "b" to pass. house speaker john boehner offering higher tax rates to millionaires while they talk about a broader deal. the white house is rejecting boehner's plan saying a comprehensive plan and not a partial step is needed. as i told you, this morning president obama is set to make an announcement on how he plans to tackle the issue of gun control in this country. but the question is, will it make a difference? here's former congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of

america. and to the republic for which it stands. >> a symbol, perhaps, of gun violence because we all remember the tragic shooting that wounded giffords. but there was also a child killed in that attack. do you remember her name? her name was christina taylor. christina taylor green. she was 9 years old. she was born on 9/11 included in the book faces of hope with other children born on that other tragic day. joining me now, cnn contributors maria cardona and ana navarro. the reason i point these things out, because unless legislation isn't immediately introduced, as it was not after gabrielle giffords was shot and other people were wounded and killed that terrible day, memories fade and nothing really happens. so, okay, it's great that the president's going to form these committees and he's going to have the department of education and homeland security and

they're all going to talk about it. but memories fade. if something doesn't get done fast, will it ever get done? maria? >> well, i do think that this time is a little different, carol. i mean, in fact, even just the announcement of this committee is more action than this white house has taken after any of the other tragedies that we have seen, including gabby giffords. we've also seen movements from democrats who are nra-backed democrats like mark warner and joe manchin and even harry reid. i think that we really are at a tipping point where this specific tragedy, because unfortunately it did involve 20 of our most vulnerable, innocent angels, children, i think is something that the public has just had it with. and so while i think it's good that the president did announce this committee, i do think that actual legislation needs to come out of it. >> well, let's talk about actual legislation, ana.

do you believe actual legislation will be introduced? and can it actually pass even if it is? >> i absolutely believe that senator feinstein's going to go through with her word. and introduce legislation the first of the year. that it's going to be the first legislation that gets introduced. i think she's committed to this. and i think this is a different moment in time, carol. i think it's a different moment in time for everybody. you know, from the american public, journalists, politicians. it's just something about the recurrence of the event. it's something about it being at an elementary school. something that's supposed to be so safe. about it being 20 children. and about it also being after the elections. let's remember that. people have -- you know, yes, this is about policy. but it's also about politics. let's be realistic here. and this happened, gabby giffords happened before the elections. this happened to have happened the month after the elections. people are a lot more free to act and to act now. and many times when important

things happen in america, when important legislation has happened, it has been led by a citizen movement. by citizens demanding action. and i think that is what you are seeing in this case. i saw that group of parents and family members of the different relatives -- the different people that have been killed in some of these shooting occurrences from, you know, aurora to this, it's a very powerful emotional group. they're going to have a lot of political punch should they wish to exercise it. >> maria, i do want to ask about the nra. it's going to come out on friday and talk about how it's going to contribute to the debate on guns in this country. i don't think it's going to mention gun control, frankly. speculation is it'll turn the discussion to mental illness. and say we should concentrate on that. and not the guns. because guns don't kill, you know, that trite saying which i'm beginning to really hate. guns don't kill, people do. >> absolutely.

but even the fact, carol, that the nra didn't say anything for a whole week i think points to the fact this is a very different situation, a very different moment in time. when tragedies have happened similar to this in the past, the nra has been on the air the day of making sure that all of the members of congress, that they have supported in the past, don't -- you know, don't go off the talking points and don't start talking about legislation. this is very different now. i think the two things that absolutely should be talked about in terms of immediate action is the ban on assault weapons and, frankly, closing the gun show loophole, which as you know, carol, gives the ability for 40% of gun sales to happen without a background check. so, yes, mental health needs to be a part of this conversation. but we need to figure out how to keep these guns out of the hands of killers. and as a mother, i can't -- of

kindergarten aged children, i can't tell you how important that is to me and i'm sure to all parents. frankly, to all americans. because this is a very different moment. >> maria cardona, ana navarro, thank you so much. new episodes of "family guy" coming back. we'll show you the clip of the show that was canceled in the wake of the tragedy in newtown. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understand. at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer

is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help.

after canceling sunday's airing of a new episode of "family guy" out of sensitivity to the newtown tragedy a show will return this week. good morning. >> hey, good morning, carol. yeah, in the aftermath of the tragedy, hollywood did take steps to avoid being seen as insensitive. fox in particular decided to postpone the airing of this episode of "family guy" until this weekend. you know, this is an example of how the networks are sensitive now about content that it runs and that it airs around a tragedy. as far as we've been able to find out, this episode of "family guy" didn't feature violence that would make it uncomfortable, but it does put, like, this whole "family guy" twist on the birth of jesus. here's a clip of it. >> i remember when this was all desert. >> you know when the baby comes we could probably home school him. i can count up to nine. >> yeah, hey, tell me one more time how it is that god got you pregnant. when you tell me the story it

sort of makes sense. then when i tell the guys at work they poke all kinds of holes in it. >> so you guys are going to bethlehem, huh? i went there one time on a donkey's night out. >> you know, fox has only told us they switched the episodes to avoid airing any potentially sensitive content. >> i don't get it. i don't get it. that's offensive on any day. but specific to newtown? i don't get it. >> well, no. i think what they were doing was just deciding to -- deciding not to be offensive right after it. "family guy" stretches the line, carol. on any episode that they do. so i think they just wanted to say immediately following what happened, we're going to pull back. but, you know, we were talking earlier. just where's the line? when do you decide to come back? in this case because i think it didn't feature gun violence, they decided that this sunday was okay. >> you know, all these movie premieres that are being postponed because of the movies that they're premiering are, you know, especially violent, it's

like how is it more sensitive later? i mean, why is it insecenssensit this moment? it just seems hypocrite cal al . we made this really violent movie. some really violent tragedy happened. we're going to postpone the pre mir. we're still going to show the movie. >> it's a bit of a catch- .22. if you're hollywood, you are there to provide entertainment and make movies and we sat down with some of the stars of "django unchained" at their junket earlier in the week and asked them specifically, do you think violence in the movies gives inspiration or could lead to some of the violence that we're seeing in america? and they specifically said, absolutely not. they do this for entertainment. at the same time when something like this happens, and we heard maria and ana just talking about it, this was different. this really kind of maybe turned the tide. you don't want to do anything if you're hollywood to lead -- to

let anybody think you're being insensitive in any kind of way. everybody feels like crying. we all did. what they're saying is we don't want to seem like we're celebrating something when the rest of america feels like griev grieving. >> but we don't mind celebrating violence down the line. it seems hypocriiypocrite cal t >> i guess every movie made can't be a light hearted comedy. there has to be different things. in hollywood, you have to sometimes make that decision. that's what they're doing now. it's a tough one. i'm with you. it's a tough one. >> thanks for playing. we'll be right back. >> all right, darling. er ] you are a business pro. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go.

you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro. aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪ welcome to chevy's year-end event. so, the 5.3-liter v8 silverado can tow up to 9,600 pounds? 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ]

[ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. get the best offer of the year -- 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance. hurry. bonus cash ends january 2nd.

46 minutes past the hour. time to check top stories. systemic failures and leadership deficiencies. that's how an independent review characterizes the state department in the wake of that deadly consulate attack in bengha benghazi. the report adds a lack of resources partly to blame. two members of that review panel will brief members of the house foreign affairs and senate foreign relations committees today. a propane explosion at a virginia shopping center caught on camera. on monday this huge fire ball lit up the night sky. one firefighter was injured. power knocked out to the surrounding area.

in money news, it's taken a while, but americans are finding more in their paychecks. that's according to the nonprofit hr association world at work which says most workers could see, "a," are you ready for it? a 3% raise this year. those raises are coming almost every 13 months. that's compared to almost 14 months back in 2010 if that makes you feel any better. just in time to possibly disrupt your holiday travel, a major snowstorm is going to hit parts of the united states. in fact, these pictures from denver, colorado, proves the weather's already making a mess of things. meteorologist alexandra steele is here to show us when the storm really gears up. >> all right. it's certainly about to. denver, colorado, it began this morning a couple hours ago seeing the first snowfall. here's the big picture on it. so from greeley, colorado, to green bay. we're talking about 1,000-mile stretch of some snow, incredibly heavy at times. also 50 mile per hour wind gusts. and there's severe weather in the mix to boot.

here's the picture. by the time it winds down in colorado tonight and denver, 1 to 3 inches. that's kind of just a taste of it. it finally gears up, energizes through tonight in through the day tomorrow. on i-80 between omaha and des moines, des moines we even have blizzard warnings. gusting 50 miles per hour. 6 to 12 inches of snow. then toward green bay a foot plus. even in chicago, chicago into tomorrow, tomorrow night affair. here's the timeline. the forecast models, the guidance really all in sync on this one. that is the good news. this morning it began in denver, colorado. pushing eastward. by the time we head into tonight, watch this white area. of course, that's the snow intensified. but another key factor with this storm to really see it intensify, watch these isobars. these lines of equal pressure. the tighter they are, the stronger the winds, carol. tomorrow night in chicago we're only going to see 2 to 4 inches of snow. but the winds will be perilous in terms of traveling.

of course, with christmas only a few days away we're in for tough travel at big hubs in this country. >> i've got to make it to ohio. i'm being selfish here. >> ohio is okay. it's all about the timing. even in chicago if you go friday or tonight, you'll be fine. even into tomorrow morning. the timing on this is key. ohio, carol, you're fine. we're not going to see this move into ohio until thursday night, friday. saturday ohio's worst day. the earlier you go or later you go you'll be all right. >> okay. thanks. it's great to have your personal meteorologist. >> you're so welcome. for you, anything. >> thank you so much. still ahead, our talk back question and your responses. should teachers be armed? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be right back. teachers be armed? i will be right back.

should teachers be armed? we have to attack the issue from all sides and we have to start somewhere. more gun control is needed. from mark, teachers should not be armed. they should have trained security offers instead. teachers with a valid permit should be allowed to carry on grounds. well, interesting take. this, hell, no, where would the children be or innocent by-standers while they're having a shootout? it is ludicrous.

keep it going. i'll be right back. like someth. or you can get out there and actually like something. the lexus december to remember sales event is on. this is the pursuit of perfection. five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story.

before you begin an aspirin regimen. oh, let me guess --ou see this? more washington gridlock. no, it's worse -- look, our taxes are about to go up. not the taxes on our dividends though, right? that's a big part of our retirement. oh, no, it's dividends, too. the rate on our dividends would more than double. but we depend on our dividends to help pay our bills. we worked hard to save. well, the president and congress have got to work together to stop this dividend tax hike. before it's too late. well, if itmr. margin?margin. don't be modest, bob. you found a better way to pack a bowling ball. that was ups. and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked a question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows. i'll do that. you're on a roll. that's funny. i wasn't being funny, bob. i know.

sports world has been out front honoring the victims. we have seen messages on helmets and shoes in the nfl and the nba and players wanting to send a message and reach out as role models and as parents themselves. this was the scene in hartford, connecticut, the university of connecticut men's basketball

team honoring the victims and it was a touching try bite. joining me now, the legendary head coach of the uconn women's basketball team, the sport in the state of connecticut. welcome, coach. thank you so much for being with me this morning thank you, carol. great to be here. >> how important is it for your players to remember these victims? >> well, they're not far removed from their days of being on a bus and getting dropped off at first grade, second grade, and they're still kids at heart, and when they see something like this, especially an hour away from where we are right now, it stunned them, i think more than anything i have seen in all of my years of coaching. >> your team returning to the court for the first game since the tragedy. anything special planned? >> i think we're going to do

something similar to what the men did on monday night and hopefully people will get there early and be a part of the tribute. it is not a lot that we can do, but i think it is important that we keep it in the forefront, especially this week when a lot of the funerals will be held. >> did you have conversations with your players about this? >> yeah, we did. we talked about it after the fact on friday, and saturday and sunday were really difficult and they're in the middle of exams and they're also having to deal with this and they have brothers and sisters of their own and it was a very difficult three days for us, and they all wanted to know what can we do to help? how can we get involved? again, there is very little we can do right now, and the scholarship fund we created i think is our best way of trying to help the people of newtown.

>> let's talk about that scholarship fund. the university set up a scholarship fund for the victims of sandy hook and you and your wife kicked it off with an $80,000 check. first of all, explain what the scholarship is for and why you felt it was so important to be the first to donate. >> i was talking to president herbst over the weekend and i thought there is something long-term we need to do rather than just the short-term things going on now which are great and really important. we figured the cost of an education right now for an in-state student is about $80,000 and if we could create a fund that would help us cover the cost of the education at uconn for the dependents of the adults and the siblings of the children that were involved in the killings, i think that's a meaningful way for us at the university of connecticut as the

flagship institution in the state of connecticut to honor the kids and the residents of connecticut in the best way that we possibly can going forward. >> you're right. you want to do something, and it is great the scholarship fund has been set up. you still feel so helpless. >> yeah. that feeling is not going to go away. no matter how much money we raise, no matter how much awareness we bring, how many prayers we say, that's not going to bring back those kids or those teachers and adults and it is not going to erase what happened and it is not going to make the families dealing with this feel any better about their loss. i think we have to think those of us on the outside, we can't fix what happened. we can't make anybody feel better. i think going forward we have the power to make those that come after these kids and these adults maybe benefit from this tragedy so that it doesn't end with just footnotes in the paper

and that there is actual scholarship memorial in these names of these children and these adults and maybe as long as we can if we raise enough money. it is not enough, but it is the best we can do under the circumstances. >> coach, thanks so much for joining us this morning. we sure appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts now. stories we're watching now in the newsroom, learning lessons from newtown, connecticut, you're about to hear from one senator that will unveil her plan to beef up security in schools across the country. british tennis star andy murray reaching out to the families and victims of the newtown tragedy but he may have more in common than you think. an independent review releases a record on what happened in libya and how it could have been prevented. forget the days where smoke and cigarettes and chugging beer was school in high school.

a new report released minutes ago says teenagers today are turning to adderall to get their fix. newsroom starts now. good morning. thank you so much for joining us. happening now on capitol hill, new efforts to protect the nation's children. barbara boxer is the latest lawmaker responding to the massacre of school kids and teachers in newtown. at any moment she will announce new measures aimed at bolstering security at every single school in america. dana bash is our senior congr s congressional correspondent. have any idea what boxer might say? >> i do. i am told she is going to come out and talk about new ways she will push legislatively for schools to be more security. for example, i am told she will propose building on some preexisting federal programs like what's called the cops program that already gives money

to schools to help with security. one of the issues is that we are in very tight budget times and so if she is going to be calling for more money, that might be difficult for her to get now when every single program in the federal budget is on the chopping block. still, this obviously is a very unique and raw situation, so maybe this would be an exception. later today we're going to hear from other democrats also pushing for broader gun control and, carol, just the fact democrats are doing this much more aggressively now is a massive, massive change. we talked about over the past few days, from what we have seen over the past ten years where democrats shied away because they concluded it was bad politics to talk about gun control. >> we heard there is an effort to allow guns in schools and arm teachers. will we hear anything more about that today? >> not from capitol hill. in fact, we have been hearing that there has been an effort by republican leaders to get people

to not talk about that, especially right now. listen to what steve latourette said about what the republican speaker is telling members. >> the speakered, look, this is an obviously a horrible event that touched everyone in the country and certainly devastated a community. we need to be respectful. we need to be diplomatic in our remarks. remarks like, well, we should just arm the principals and teachers are probably not appropriate, and that we're going to have to next year engage in a discussion about what's appropriate. >> there really has only been one congressman that talked about the idea publicly of arming teachers as a way to mend this horribly broken system, but the bottom line is we obviously have heard it from outside of washington, from local officials, some pundits, and i

think the most interesting thing still is, carol, that we are not hearing very much if anything from most republicans about the whole issue of guns. they are waiting. they are staying quiet. it is not unlike what we're seeing from the nra that decided not to say anything until they have a press conference friday. they want to wait until things are not as incredibly raw as they are now. >> dana bash, thanks so much. a bit of news just into cnn. cnn learned that former supreme court nominee robert bork has died. he died of a heart condition. he is a long career before president ronald reagan nominated him for the high court in 1987. he was a former solicitor general to the supreme court and attorney general under president richard nixon and later served on the court of appeals. after failing to become supreme court justice he left the bench and went to work for several think tanks and went back to being a law professor. most recently he was part of the

romney campaign serving as the leader of the campaign's justice advisory committee. robert bork was 84 years old. we'll have jeff toobin later in the show to talk about bork and his legacy. president obama takes first steps towards new gun control laws. he promised the changes sunday at a heart wrenching vigil and next hour mr. obama will announce that vice president joe biden will lead the effort to form new policies to rein in gun violence. one of the toughest questions investigators will try to answer is why did this happen in the first part, this terrible tragedy in connecticut? where did adam lanza shoot and kill his mother and 20 children and six adults inside sandy hook elementary before turning the gun on himself? those who knew him described him as quiet and socially awkward. he was a fan of video games. he did not have a criminal record. it is hard to believe that anyone would really commit

something this terrible. mary ellen o'toole, a former fbi profiler and joins us from washington. good morning. thank you for being here. >> good morning. thank you. >> i think that so many people are just trying to get a grip on who this kid was and why he did what he did. as a profiler, what have you come up with? >> well, looking at the available information about this case and really we look at the profilers the behavior at the crime scene, this crime really started days, weeks, or months before the event, and it appears from what i can see right now that it was thought out in a very strategic way, in a very logical way, and it was very cold blooded. there is just an enormous amount of callousness to this crime, and what that tells me is that if there were precipitating

triggers in his life that made him decide that he is going to act out this way, i think the important point is that he knew what he was doing. he appeared to be in touch with reality and understood the consequences of his behavior. his intent was for maximum lethality which is a very cold word to comprehend. he wanted to kill as many people as he could. >> let's go back to -- i am sorry. could you hang around for just a minute? senator barbara boxer is talking on capitol hill about new security measures in schools across the country. >> in january 1989 a deranged gunman stepped onto the grounds in california and fired at least 106 bullet from an ak-47 rifle

from across the schoolyard and killed five children, one teacher, and injured 29 other students before fatally shooting himself. that led california to enact the state's assault weapons ban. california still remembered this tragedy and just as the nation will always remember the victims of sandy hook elementary school. i know what it means when someone close to you is suddenly taken away in this unspeakable way. my family was touched by the brutal mass shooting at a law office in san francisco in 1993 where crazed gunman with an assault weapon killed eight people and wounded another six. one of those people was a brave young lawyer who threw his body over his wife's, sacrificing his own life to save hers. that young man was one of my son's best friends.

so i can tell you without a shadow of a doubt how these horrific and senseless tragedies live on with the survivors forever. the parents, the spouses, the children, the families, and the friends. it changes their lives forever and it pierces their psyche forever. since 1999 which was the year of the massacre at columbine high school and we'll have a chart to talk about this, 258 students, teachers, and others have been killed in school shootings. another 212 have been wounded due to gun violence at our schools. i will break down just some of those crimes. a 2005 shooting at red lake senior high school in minnesota. >> we're going to go away from this for a bit. when she gets into the meat of

the speech we'll fill you in and go back to senator barbara boxer live. she is supposed to outline security measures to be taken in schools across the country for legislation to be introduced to address those concerns. let's get back to our fbi profiler right now, mary ellen o'toole, talking about adam lanza, the shooter in newtown, connecticut and how he had planned out his attack. i just wanted to go over some of the things that make you think that he planned carefully for this attack to happen. number one, his computer was smashed to smithereens. i mean so smashed that the fbi doesn't think it can get any information out of it. what does that tell you about adam lanza? >> well, on the surface that certainly suggests that he does not want anybody to get into his computer. that was his world. he doesn't want people to understand what he was involved in. there may have been plans.

there may have been all sorts of information that he left there, and he does not want anyone to have access to it. >> and that he also shot his mother. do you think that was preplanned? >> i do think that it was preplanned, and there certainly there is every reason to think their relationships at times was very, very problematic, but if you shoot your mom, she then cannot pick up the phone and call the police and warn them you're going to the school to commit a horrific act. it could have been emotionally based but it also could have been as far as he was concerned very pragmatic. he did not want to be stopped. he wanted to go to the school and that's it is mission oriented aspect to it because she would have picked up the phone and called the police and they would have stopped him. >> when people say he was mentally ill, maybe didn't know what he was doing, do you buy that argument?

>> i think there are certainly mental issues here. i would stop at that point and say that's the reason that he committed this tragic series of homicides. you can be mentally ill. you can have a mental disorder, but it does not mean that you are not aware of your actions and that you are not aware your actions are wrong. i think that's a very important distinction. i am just not hearing that. mental illness does not equate to not knowing what you're doing and being responsible for what you're doing. >> thanks for sticking around. we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> all right. let's get back to our breaking news, the death of the former supreme court nominee robert bork. jeffrey toobin is on the phone now. share memories of robert bork

with us, jeffrey. >> he was really an epic figure in american law. he is one of the intellectual godfathers of the conservative movement in this country. the originalism, the idea that the constitution should be interpreted as the framers of the constitution wrote it in the late 18th century, that was really an idea that robert bork popularized and anton and scalia and clarence thomas really followed on his example. his nomination to the supreme court in 1987 was one of the great constitutional dramas of our time. joseph biden was the chairman of the judiciary committee and led the opposition and it was a titanic struggle over what the constitution meant and bork lost 58-42. he remained a vivid constitutional voice for all of those subsequent years.

>> can we stay there for just a second? >> and in the 1970s -- i am sorry. go ahead. >> i wanted to go back to the hearings. democrats blocked his nomination to the supreme court and a word was born that went into the nationality lexicon, you were borked. where did that come from and why do people still use the term. >> it is a controversial term just like robert bork is controversy. bork is used by republicans as a noun to mean unfair caricature. you have the views distorted and reputation damaged unfairly by congress. that's how it is used by republicans. democrats i think are quite proud of how they handled the bork hearings. they viewed it as a fair examination of bork's record

which 58 senators found too conservative. just as robert bork's work is legacy, his work is controversial, his name is controversial because the verb that his name became, bork, remains viewed very differently by democrats and republicans. >> jeffrey toobin, thanks for sharing this morning. we appreciate it. we'll be right back. bells, sweet silver bells ♪ ♪ all seem to say throw care away ♪ ♪ from everywhere, filling the air ♪ [ female announcer ] chex party mix. easy 15-minute homemade recipes you just pop in a microwave. like caramel chocolate drizzles. happier holidays. chex party mix. happier holidays. oh,this is jucier than i thought. we actully keep track of how many times this kid picked his nose? tongue's out, hair pulls, stink eyes, man we see eveything. oh, it's the old man. hold on, i gotta send something out. you can have two apps open at the same time? how'd you do that? it's the galaxy note 10.1 man, it just does it.

how do you think they made it? magic. do more with the samsung galaxy note 10.1.

18 minutes past the hour. more on benghazi. an independent federal committee released vivid details from the september attacks in which four americans lost their lives. this is the result of a month-long investigation and laid out recommendations in six key areas including training and awareness and intelligence and threat analysis and personal accountability. we heard from bob cork other this report. here is what he said. >> i know that secretary clinton was unable to be able to testify tomorrow in an open setting. i do think it is imperative for all concerned that she testify in an open session prior to any

changing of the regime. i think that that's very important for her. i think it is very important for our country, and i think it is very important to really understand sort of the inner workings of the state department itself. >> joining me now, cnn contributor and former cia officer, good morning. >> good morning. >> so this report, it lays no blame but senator corker suggests that secretary of state clinton should testify. do you agree? >> i don't think it is important. i think this is a good report. ambassador pickering and mullen are sterling reputations. they assigned blame to the state department to their political analysis and the absence of security and i think that's exactly what happened in benghazi. there is a question whether we should have left that place open. was that proposed? did it go to the secretary of state? that maybe is one question you

want to ask her. i think with the pickering and mullen report i think we have our answers on this and it is now it is time to do better. >> the report is scathing. i am going to read you a couple of quotes out of this report. it says that security at the consulate in benghazi was, quote, grossly inadequate to cope with the attack and that the state department ignored repeated requests to beef up personnel. ultimately the report finds there was a, quote, lack of transparency, responsiveness and leadership at senior levels. that's pretty scathing. >> i think with a report like that somebody should lose their job. somebody ignored the warnings and it was probably a lower level than the secretary of state. secretary of state is not responsible directly for security of these embassies. i think somebody should lose their job, be moved, repriman d reprimanded, however the state department works. we simply are in a new era in the middle east where the decisions have to be taken seriously and not just libya.

it is syria and so forth where our posts will come under attack and somebody has to be headlight accountable for this. there is no excuse after 9/11. >> you say that but the board recommend nod disciplinary action. they named no names. you say someone specific should be held accountable. who should decide who that person is if not this independent report? >> i think the report they did name six people and i think somebody should be assigned responsibility. we're not at the end. it is a good report in the fact that responsibility has been assigned for this tragedy and you take it from there. i mean, this report cannot recommend action that the state department should take. that's up to hillary clinton right now to act on it, and we'll see what she does. if she ignores the report or doesn't do anything, yes, call her up. we'll ask what have you done?

>> robert baer, thank you so much for sharing your insights with us this morning. >> thanks. >> talkback question for you, should teachers be armed? i'll be right back. make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today.

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning, should teachers be armed? i don't know about you. i cannot imagine my first grade teacher, mrs. van horn packing a glock 9, or this, an m 4 assault rifle. >> i wish to god she had an m-4 in her office locked up so when she heard gun fire she pulls it out and didn't have to lunge heroically. >> talking about the principal at sandy hook. take a look at the map. lawmakers in oklahoma, ten, oregon, nevada, texas, are open to arming teachers >> i am suggesting we have campus responders, two or three volunteers that are on the staff whether administrators or teachers or staff members hopefully maybe prior military,

prior law enforcement, but people who are trained and will be armed and when the first shot is fired on the next campus they can respond and meet lethal force with lethal force. >> the liberal blog site mother jones did a two month investigation on this topic. it found that more guns doesn't equal fewer mass shootings. it pointed out that america has 300 million firearms, a barrage of nra-backed gun laws and record casualties from mass killers. the site quotes dr. steven har garthen. he says, quote, armed civilians attempting to intervene are actually more likely to increase bloodshed given that civilian shooters are less likely to hit their targets than police in these circumstances. although even police officers are not expert marks men in the heat of battle. remember the chaotic scene last august at the empire state building. they confronted a gunman and in

the process wounded nine innocent by-standers. would my first grade teacher mrs. van horn be a better shot? talk back question for you today, should teachers be armed? your responses later this hour. the nra ready to respond. they're promising meaningful contributions to make sure newtown doesn't ever happen again. what exactly does that mean? we'll speculate next. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news

starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to

power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app. good morning to you all. thank you so much for joining me. it is just about 30 minutes past the hour 6789 time to check our top stories. cnn learned former supreme court nominee robert bork died. bork was taern general under president richard nixon and later served on the court of appeals. bork left the bench shortly after the senate blocked his

supreme court nomination in 1987 and most recently he was part of the romney campaign. robert bork was 84. joe biden is taking a lead role as the u.s. addresses the gun debate and an hour and 15 minutes from now president obama is expected to announce joe biden will head an interagency process to develop policy following the connecticut school shooting. specific policy decisions will not be announced today but the president will outline his plan going forward. also in the topic of the president, barack obama has a new title, "time" magazine's person of the year. time says the president was picked for, quote, turning weakness into opportunity and seeking among great adversity to create a more perfect union. the national rifle association is vowing to take part in the national dialog on gun control and says it is heart broken and shocked by the massacre. it is worth noting the gun rights group seems to be embracing a softer tone and assigning blame for the killing spree.

>> i don't think the issue is parenting or hollywood or guns or rap music or young men. it is the foundational stuff, whether it is a lack of love, a lack of empathy for others, apathy. >> that's a show on the nra's website and the first official statement they have to this say. quote, out of respect for the families and common decency we have given time for mourning, prayer, and a full investigation of the facts before commenting. the nra is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again. end quote. george howell is following the nra's response up to this point. and political expert larry sabatow will give us insight for what they're planning for the future. meaningful contributions, what does that mean. >> fair to say it is an open ended statement, yes? but we know that since the

newtown shooting the nra has gone silent. we haven't heard a thing from them. the twitter account went cold and they took their facebook account down briefly. both are back up and we do see a comment there about this big announcement set for friday and what that amounsment will be, we have yet to see. their website is also up and running and you play just a little bit of that program. it is called canon company and airs on the website. i want to listen to a little more of that where you can start to see some of the reaction from the nra. let's listen. >> what do we see coming right out of this tragedy right away is you've got mayor bloomburg, you have senators chuck schumer and diane feinstein insisting we need tougher gun laws, and you look at connecticut, they're number 5 when it comes to the strictest gun laws in the country. >> carol, the nra, we're talking about a big tough powerful lobbying group, more than 4 million members strong, and this is a group that does everything

from running conventions to hosting gun related activities, and they're also strong when it comes to money. think about this. they spend $17 million in federal political race this is year along and we know they contributed more than $700,000 to individual candidates. that's a lot of money mostly going to republican candidates. >> george howell, thanks so much. i want to talk more about this and i would like to speculate, we are a country, a whole lot of gun lovers, 270 million guns in the hands of private owners right now. that's around nine guns to every ten people. let's bring in the director of the university of virginia center on politics. i know you have studied the nra for a long period of time and in response to lobbying and gun related tragedy. when the nra says meaningful contributions, what does that say to you? >> well, it says to me that it could be a lot worse, carol.

they could have attacked all of the propose l as for change. i don't want to be naive or utopian and suggest suddenly the nra is going to embrace closing the gun shell loophole or banning automatic weapons. i think at least they're willing to be part of this conversation. who knows? there may not possibility of, for example, strengthening background checks. that's been proposed as one possible shift. so it is partly good news. it is certainly better than having the nra which is a very powerful lobbying group not just in washington but in the 50 state capitals coming out totally against any change. >> so this does feel different to you. i mean, after gabby giffords was shot, example, the nra did not comment. i don't think it commented yet on that. zero legislation was passed after gabrielle giffords was shot. what makes this event, what makes this response from the nra

different? >> well, you know, if you're going to assign levels of horrific, this has got to top the charts. i think everybody recognizes that. everyone keeps referring to it as a turning point, and it is. of course we need to remember the way our system is structured. the founders established a system that divides power every which way. you cannot get quick change. it takes months and even years to get change and i suppose if you were cynical, you would say that the nra is trying to appear sympathetic at a time when the public is really focused on this and knowing that it is very easy in our system to slow down the process. i think they deserve the benefit of the doubt. >> talking about slowing down the process, the president, assigned all of these people to come together and form some kind of community to talk about gun violence and then you have

senator diane feinstein saying she will introduce gun control legislation and won't do it until after the first of the year. so time is going to pass before anything meaningful happens and isn't that exactly what the nra is hoping for? >> probably. probably that's it. the public, if it wants changes, carol, will have to stay focused. they'll have to do something they didn't do after gabby giffords was shot and that something they didn't do after the virginia tech massacre and aurora and all of these other terrible incidents. the onus isn't just on the nra or the political players, it is also on us. >> thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate it. teenagers today may be more interested in popping pills than smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. we have shocking new information about teenaged drug abuse. ♪

(announcer) when subaru owners look in the mirror, they see more than themselves. so we celebrate our year-end with the "share the love" event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. by the end of this, our fifth year, our total can reach almost 25 million dollars. it's a nice reflection on us all. now through january 2nd. humans -- sometimes life trips us up. and sometimes, we trip ourselves up, but that's okay. at liberty mutual insurance we can "untrip" you as you go through your life with personalized policies and discounts when you need them most. just call... and speak with a licensed representative about saving on your policy when you get married, move into a new house... [crash!]

or add a car to your policy. don't forget to ask about saving up to 10% when you combine your auto and home insurance with liberty mutual. security, coverage, and savings. all the things humans need to make our beautifully imperfect world a little less imperfect. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

remember when the bad kids in school would smoke cigarettes and drink booze? the newen vogue thing to do that's bad is adderall. seems more and more teenagers are abusing the drug, part of a survey just released this hour. elizabeth cohen assures me, it is not all bad news. >> it is not all bad news. the adderall news is pretty disturbing, up 41% in the past five years. when you look at high school seniors, the usage rate is about 7.6%. so that's a lot of doctors will tell you it is not a good thing. feels like they're popping candy. i met kids that use it. they're like it is no big deal. there is concern that when kids take adderall or anybody it can make you jittery, give you headaches, and if used long-term it could eventually lead to psychosis. i think that's a rare event. certainly it is not the completely harmless drug a lot

of kids think it is. >> is it possible that the use is even higher than what's in this report because i would think kids wouldn't be totally honest when being asked these questions. >> i want to emphasize, this is illicit use, kids not prescribed adderall which is a real prescription drug, these are kids buying it from their friends or getting it from their mom's medicine cabinet and there is that concern. this is a government study and the government asks kids what drugs do you use? are kids going to be honest about that? it is a government survey. there have been other types of surveys, not so much high school students but looking at college students and their numbers are like 30%. you have to wonder if that percentage is really accurate. >> what about other drugs. >> if you take a look at marijuana use, it is near record levels. a lot of kids are saying they don't perceive it to be bad, and also other illicit drug use is down, and cigarette and alcohol

use are near record lows. when you started the segment with the bad kids doing that and to some extent kids have moved on. not completely but now there is other things they can do. >> when i was in high school it was cocaine. >> right. >> and now you don't hear much about cocaine. you hear about prescription drugs being used illegally. >> one is availability. if the kid sitting next to you has a bottle of adderall they got legitimately and they say have a couple for five, it is a whole lot easier than scoring cocaine. that's part of the reason. >> thank you. four years and $51 billion later we may finally see an end to government motors. we'll tell you why. [ male announcer ] red lobster's crabfest ends soon. hurry in and try five succulent entrees, like our tender snow crab paired with savory garlic shrimp. just $12.99. come into red lobster and sea food differently. and introducing 7 lunch choices for just $7.99.

santho, ho, ho!anta! santa! want to see some magic? watch this! merry chr... (crash) ow! i landed on my keys. did you get that? oh yeah. that was amazing. here you go. that was a fun trick! see? santa's okay. walk it off santa. share videos instantly with s beam. on the galaxy siii and note ii. for a limited time get two flip covers for the price of one. exclusively at verizon.

46 minutes past the hour. time to check the top stories. an independent committee issues a scathing report on the deadly attack in libya and the many mistake that is led up to it.

chris stevens and three other americans died when militants stormed the consulate in benghazi and set it on fire. the report sites systemic failures and leadership deficiencies at the state department. michigan's governor is vetoing a bill that would let people carry concealed weapons in schools, hospitals and other public places if they had licenses and underwent additional training. right now michigan law let's gun owners openly carry weapons but the governor said this bill did not allow public places to opt out. it is beginning to look a whole lot like christmas in colorado. this is denver. this is a major snowstorm and reach from denver to detroit or it will eventually, up to a foot of snow could fall in some places and right now six states under a blizzard warning. the u.s. could be near the end for government motors, the treasury announced today it will sell the remaining 500 million shares of general motors it still owns that. would close the books on that $51 billion bailout the auto maker took back in 2008.

>> jim is buying a big chunk of those shares. take a look at the breakdown. taxpayers currently own 500 million shares of gm and the auto maker is buying 200 million of them. the rest the treasury will sell on the open market over the next year or so and after that the bailout of 2008 will officially be over and there is no doubt the money did a lot of good. in 2008 they were near bankruptcy and now it is making money, hiring workers, and it is once again the world's leading auto maker. carol, this did come at a cost to taxpayers. we're going to lose money on this bailout and how much will depend on how much the shares are sold for. that's why the treasury says even though the auto bailout saved a million jobs, the government shouldn't be in the business of owning stakes in private companies for an indefinite period of time. >> i think most of america would agree with that. thank you so much. british tennis star andy murray pays tribute to the families and victims of violence in newtown.

his connection to the tragedy is stronger than you mighty this. [ female announcer ] what if the next big thing, isn't a thing at all? it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells ♪ ♪ all seem to say throw care away ♪ ♪ from everywhere, filling the air ♪ [ female announcer ] chex party mix. easy 15-minute homemade recipes you just pop in a microwave. like caramel chocolate drizzles. happier holidays. chex party mix.

another tribute to the victims of the tragedy at sandy hook elementary school, the providence college friars war special uniforms. the team put ribbons on 26 seats in the auditorium as a memorial for the 26 people that died at newtown. another tribute to the victims of newtown, coming from tennis star andy murray. he posted on his facebook page this weekend, quote, my heart goes out to all of those poor children, their families, and the community in newtown, connecticut, so so sad. murray knows far too well about

school shoot willings. he you asurvived one himself wh was eight years old. i didn't know this about andy murray. >> it is interesting. a lot of sports fans know about this stuff because it is part of andy murray's past. ironically he doesn't like to talk about the time when he was an 8-year-old at dawn blaine in scotland and they were walking down a hallway when thomas hamilton, a 43-year-old former scout master walked into the gym and killed 16 kids between the ages of 5 and 6 and the teacher. andy murray and his brother hid under a desk on that day. andy murray has since at the present time is the third ranked ten in is player in the world and has had an amazing 2012 when he was the wimbledon runner up and i think he could literally be a hero not only for the parents but the kids involved in the school shootings in

connecticut. it will be interesting to see whether he wants to be that hero. he doesn't talk about this. whether he doesn't want to revisit this or he says in his book he wrote called hitting back when he wrote ten years ago, he remembers patches that far day, singing songs in class and remembers bits and pieces that far day and so maybe he blocked it out of his mind. i think it is very encouraging he wrote that passage on his facebook page and we'll have to see whether he wants to do more. >> it is fascinating. just watching television, i am sure they're covering it in the u.k. and seeing it on tv and probably brings back really bad memories for him, but if i am a parent of one of those kids who witnessed such carnage at newtown and i see andy murray mentally healthy, successful, dealing with it all, you know, seemingly -- >> it is not something brought up either because of the fact, you're right, he is like every other tennis player out there. he has his bad days, his good days. he was one of the most emotional

responses ever at wimbledon when he addressed the crowd and thanked him after he was beat this year and he was tearful and then the joy at the olympics, him winning the gold medal at the london games. he has had an up and down year and to end the year like this is truly amazing and i am interested to see what part if any he wants to have in these family's lives. >> i hope some. he is prove you can be okay. >> that's a great point. he is proof that you can go on from something as horrific as this and he wasn't in the other end. he was walking to the gymnasium. 30 seconds later he may have been one of those kids who was tragically killed and now he is one of the best tennis players in the entire world. >> carlos diaz, thanks for sharing. we appreciate it. talk back question, should teachers be armed? your responses next. last minut. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

hurry in and try five succulent entrees, like our tender snow crab paired with savory garlic shrimp. just $12.99. come into red lobster and sea food differently. and introducing 7 lunch choices for just $7.99. [ "the odd couple" theme playing ] humans. even when we cross our "t"s and dot our "i"s, we still run into problems --

mainly other humans. at liberty mutual insurance, we understand. that's why our auto policies come with accident forgiveness if you qualify, where your rates won't go up due to your first accident, and new car replacement, where if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call... to talk to an insurance expert about everything else that comes standard with our base auto policy. [ tires squeal ] and if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. call... to switch, and you could save hundreds. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? an enormous response to our talk back question this morning, the question should teachers be

armed. from tony, no, people who are determined to destroy will do so no matter what obstacles are in their way. adding guns will not make anyone safer. armed uniformed security or police at each school is the best answer. from rafina, give the teachers tasers. this from kevin, take all the guns away and destroy owl computer games. we can only watch andy griffith, leave it to beaver and outlaw everything just in case and we'll be safe. from jimmy, there is a big difference in carrying a concealed weapon and strapping on guns. a concealed weapon would only be seen if it was needed. would i feel more comfortable if my child's teacher had such a gun? unfortunately i would. please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn and thanks for all of your thoughtful responses. we brought this question up today because half a dozen states are thinking